Catch

Chapter Ten

“You sound like a broken record.” Gwen stopped by the door to my room.

“I hate leaving that body alone in the jungle for anything to nibble on her.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I met Gwen’s dark glare. The empty pit that used to be my stomach still rolled.

“She’s dead. It doesn’t matter to her anymore. Look, Connie. I’m short-handed as is and this nest is about to wake. Do me a favor and stay in your room until I get this sorted out, or Rurik awakens.”

I nodded before opening the door.

Touching my shoulder, she made me hesitate. “I’d hate to find you in that jungle next.” She spun around and left me staring at her back.

Me too.

The door swung open about two inches then stopped. I tried it again and it met resistance. “Rurik?” No one answered but the sun was close to setting. What else blocked my way? With my shoulder pressed to the solid wood, I pushed until it gave enough space for me to squeeze through.

“What now?” I set my hands on my hips and regarded the luggage strewn across the floor. Someone had gone to our freaking hotel, packed our stuff and then brought them here. Strangers touched my delicates, who would like that?

I appreciated the gesture, I guessed. Eventually Rurik would want his clothes back and that would leave me with nothing but blankets. Something fresh to wear would be great…and shoes, except they didn’t need to bring everything.

Like a gong, the notion hit me. They expected us to stay. I glanced at my sleeping lover. Did he want to remain here among his own kind?

The door opened and a man stood with another suitcase in his hand.

I rounded on him. “Who told you to bring my things here?”

He set it by the door and raised his hands. “Não falam Inglês.”

Great, no English. I let out an angry sigh. “Empregador.” It should mean boss.

Nodding his head, he retreated from the room as I followed. We didn’t go far, left down the hall, then made a right to a guarded double door entrance. My guide spoke with one while the other eyed my oversized clothing and dirty bare feet.

Yep, that’s me, blood slave to your vampire king. All I was missing was a frayed straw hat and some chewing tobacco.

He spoke into his radio, however I didn’t hear a response.

Above their heads, I noted a small camera embedded in the wall. I twisted to look at the intersecting hallways and noted a similar set up. That’s how Gwen knew I’d left my room the first time; she was going to be pissed about this too. Right now, I didn’t care.

The three conferred in quiet voices until the first one gestured to me. “Follow me, Ms. Bence.”

They opened a door and let me in. We passed a small entry into a sitting area with a library from where I could see what appeared to be an office and heard the running shower.

Paintings of the sea covered every wall. Stormy, calm, some with boats, one with whales, and another with a familiar yacht I’d had the misfortune of sitting on.

We stood in Tane’s quarters.

“Please, sit down while I inform the Master of your arrival.” The guard spoke fluent English with a slight British accent.

“No, thanks.” I ground my teeth as I brushed past him across the library toward the sound of the shower. “I’ll tell the Master myself.” The audacity to assume we’d leave our lives behind and stay here without even him asking, tipped my sanity scale into suicidal-nut-job level. With hurricane force wind, I stormed into a huge, black marbled bathroom decorated with a minimalist in mind. The shower stall stood in the far corner with a frosted glass door.

I hurried over and yanked it open.

Tane flinched from the movement and gazed at me. “Rabbit?”

The guard grabbed my upper arm. “I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t think she’d act this way.”

“You’re not used to her. It all right, Marco, I’ll take care of things.” He leaned against the shower wall and returned his attention to me.

The guard released my arm and I heard him close the door.

Last night, I’d been so exhausted and in pain I never noted Tane’s tattoo. I’d seen it poking out of his shirt collar on occasion. It crept around his shoulders from his back and descended to mid bicep, a black tribal design that popped on his translucent skin. Water poured over him in streams, meandered down his well-muscled body to pool at his feet.

A shiny golden ring pierced his belly button.

He rolled it in his fingers. “I got this before it became fashionable. A small token of my pirating days.” His hand trailed lower and drew my eyes until I realized where it headed.

I jerked my gaze away and licked my lips. Pirate? Why didn’t that surprise me?

His chuckle made me blush. “Is there anything else you need? If you’re going to stand there, you may as well get in and join me.”

“When hell freezes over.” I stepped away.

“Careful what you wish for.” He shut the shower door. “I’m almost done. Wait for me in the living room. I’m sure whatever crisis you have can wait another minute.”

I stared through the frosted glass at Tane’s silhouette. He scrubbed at his scalp. “I’m not staying.”

“Fine, have a seat and order something to eat.”

“That’s not what I mean. I want to go back to my hotel.”

“No.”

I waited, but he continued to wash. Asshole. Rurik should be waking as well. I spun and stomped back to the library. He would know how to get a taxi and get us back where we belonged.

Something brushed past me and I stiffened from the touch.

Tane appeared before me by one of the sofas. A towel wrapped around his waist. He lifted the phone to his ear. “What would you like to eat?”

“Gwen fed me.”

He set the phone down and leaned against the sofa with his arms crossed over his chest. “I heard about your little hike.”

“Then you know about the body?” Gwen didn’t waste time.

“Of course.” He raised an eyebrow and frowned. “I have a traitor in my house and a murderer. Do you think it’s a coincidence?”

For the last hour my brain had stopped working, reacting instead of planning. Maybe a bit of overreacting tossed in the mix when I saw the luggage. “No.”

“Do you think I should call the Rio law enforcement and have them investigate?”

“Would they care?” My words came out strained. He wanted to lead me somewhere.

“Not unless she belonged to someone important.” He rubbed his thumb under his chin and stared at the floor. “If I paid, some of them would care more, but if I’m going to hire a person, I want the best.” With the last word, he fixed his gaze to mine.

“My sources tell me Colby’s in town. I doubt he vacations.”

I should have stayed in my room. This was why I hated Tane. He twisted my guts and made me feel inadequate. One day I might learn to understand his subtle thought processes. Not this evening. “He’s here on business.”

“I bet he couldn’t resist meeting with you.”

“Yeah, I saw him.” My bottom lip began to ache and realized I’d been chewing on it.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as if wanting to laugh. “A bittersweet meeting I suspect. Did he treat you different now that you’re with us?”

“Yes.” I snapped. “Get to the point.”

“Contact him. He’s more qualified to deal with this than the police. I’ll use whatever resources at my disposal to help resolve this problem. Maybe he can find a clue to my traitor.” He straightened and loomed over me. “And you’re staying.”

“I don’t think so.”

The darkness that gathered in his expression as he glowered almost drowned me in doubt. “Gwen told me about your conversation on our bond. You’ve cast uncertainty into her. I forced my blood into you because you would have died without it.”

Poof! Just like that, my anger shredded the doubt. I loved my rage at times. “Don’t go all humanitarian on me.” I stepped into the center stage of his furious glare and poked him in the bare chest. “You could have let Rurik do it instead, but no, you’ve got an agenda.”

“Even if I could have freed him from the sword in time to try to save you, Rurik’s blood was not strong enough to bring you back from the brink of death.” Fangs glinted with the light as he let loose an inhuman growl.

Instinct made me duck and roll for the door but he caught me in his arms before I’d made it across the room.

He pressed me to his abdomen as he whispered. “Don’t struggle. It makes it harder to control.” Hot breath panted in my left ear. “You’re such a pest. My night has barely begun and already you’ve pissed me off.”

The drumming beat of my heart slowed as we stood in this position for a moment.

Tane loosened his grip, but still held me. “You need to learn how to behave. A less skilled vampire would have devoured you by now.” He brushed my hair away from my neck. “Stop influencing my staff. Challenge me in private if you have to or I’ll be forced to punish you in public.” The cool touch of his tongue as he licked a trickle of sweat on my skin made me jerk in his hold. “And I promise I won’t be a gentleman.”

Fangs closed around my pulse point. It stung as he bit into my flesh, yet the pain lessened as he drew in my blood. I listened to his warning and didn’t struggle. Tears welled in my eyes. I’d be damned to let them spill where he could see them.

He pulled away and licked my wound closed. “Very good, Rabbit.” His fingers trailed in my curls before he opened his arms.

If a black hole opened at my feet, I would have been happy to fall in it. Not wanting to look him in the eye, afraid the tears would return, I stared at my hands. “I don’t want to stay here.”

A knock at the door interrupted us. It opened and Rurik entered. Dressed in light slacks and collared t-shirt, he was the image of perfection with his wet black hair slicked back. “I wondered where you went. No surprise you’ve found your way here.” He set his hands on his hips. I’d known him long enough to see the hidden hurt in his eyes.

“Rabbit wants to leave. She came here to coerce me into letting her go.” Tane, still dressed in a towel, sat on the sofa facing Rurik. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a bad idea.” Rurik spoke those words so softly I almost didn’t believe what I’d heard.

“Why?” Last night he would have tried to tear Tane’s heart from his chest. It didn’t make sense. I couldn’t imagine how he would react once he found out Tane drank from me, except as I got closer I noticed his skin color. He already fed.

A sharp pain pierced my heart. Silly of me to expect him to only use my blood as nourishment, the mansion probably held dozens of willing humans who’d throw themselves at his feet. Did he caress their lower back the way he did with me?

“You belong to Tane—”

“No, I don’t. Do you see ‘Property of Tane’ stamped somewhere on my body? No one owns me.”

“Let me finish. By tonight all those in this nest, and I’m sure others, will know of your bond. It will only be a matter of time before someone tries to use you against Tane.

To hurt or kidnap you so they can gain power.” He rested his hands around my upper arms and drew me closer. “Nothing would make me happier than to go back to our old life, but I can’t protect you. Not by myself.”

“Finally, a voice of reason.” Tane came to stand by Rurik and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I can always count on you to figure things out on your own.” Without another word, he walked toward the bathroom and I assumed a bedroom, as if we’d been dismissed, but before reaching the door he turned. “There’s a party tonight celebrating my return.” He grinned at me. “Some people are happy I survived. Rabbit, I expect you to stay at my side and if you could mingle, Rurik, I’d appreciate it.”

Rurik glanced at me. “Are you sure? I can’t guarantee—”

“Rabbit and I have discussed our situation and have come to an agreement. Wear something different.” That last order he directed at me. Quiet as a nightmare, he left the room.

I leaned against my lover and tried to absorb his strength.

“Careful when making deals with a devil.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. “Come on.” Leading me to the door, we left Tane’s apartment and returned to our bedroom. Already the place looked like a clothing department store disaster area, pants and shirts thrown over every possible surface.

“Ever hear of a closet?” I shoved a pile off the sofa and plunked onto the seat cushion.

He looked around the room as if seeing the mess for the first time. Rurik needed a maid. He couldn’t keep house if his life depended on it. “I was in a hurry. Someone will get it.”

He knelt in front of me. “What is your agreement with Tane?”

Sighing, I leaned my head back. “If I badmouth him in public then he’ll punish me in public.” I decided to leave out the gentleman part.

His fingers dug into my thighs as he massaged them. “Can you try not to piss off the Nosferatu for one night? Maybe give me a chance to figure out what is really going on?”

I nodded without lifting my head. “Shut up, look pretty and say please and thank you.”

“You’re the best.” He kissed one of my knees than made a nasty face before wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “Where have you been crawling?”

“Oh honey, that must have tasted terrible.” I chuckled at his sour expression. “I crawled around the jungle with Gwen. We found a dead girl.” It was my turn to give a sour face.

“What?”

“Yeah, she’s going to take care of it. Apparently, there’s a vampire going around killing young women in Rio.”

“Really? How do you know all this and I don’t?” The change in his voice should have warned me, yet I was thinking about the body.

Dressed in a black and silver gown with her hair carefully braided and lipstick the shade of red wine, perhaps she’d been snatched from a party? She appeared so immaculate, like Snow White after she’d bitten the poisoned apple. Didn’t she struggle or fight? Did she even have a chance? Not many people could block a vampire’s mind without training. The image fit the other vampire murders in Rio.

“Rabbit?” The dark tone of his voice deepened.

I startled from my thoughts and met his piercing pale blue glare. The truth needed to come out. “I-I met Colby New Years Eve night.”

His eyes narrowed, but he stayed silent.

Swallowing, I tried to moisten the dryness in my throat. “He wanted to know if I could give him some information concerning these murders. Someone in Rio hired them to investigate and take out the problem.”

“Why the secret? You should have told me.”

“I know and I planned to, however Luckard attacked and the rest is history.” A small weight lifted from my shoulders. I’d been so distracted that I didn’t notice its existence until now. “I think the body we found today is connected with the others in the city.”

“How?”

“Her hair, it was braided in an intricate design. All the victims had this.”

He smirked.

“I know it’s weird.” Even though I had slept, a sense of weariness crept over me.

“Tane wants me to contact Colby.”

Silence grew heavy in the room as Rurik sat and stared at nothing for a moment. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Nothing good will come if Tane and Colby meet in person again. Call Colby and tell him about the body. Act as the middleman between him and Tane. Help them by being the informant they need, but nothing else. And most importantly, keep me posted.”

This sneaky part of Rurik stayed hidden most of the time we’d been together. It triggered a memory of the night we met and what a slick bastard he’d been. How he drugged and snuck me out of the club under Colby’s nose. He rose to power and obtained being Overlord of Europe’s strongest vampire city in only four hundred years. According to Tane that was young.

“Okay, what if he wants to do more than investigate?”

“I’ll deal with that when the time comes.” He opened a small front pocket on one of the suitcases and slid out a cell phone, then handed it to me. “Call while I pick something out for you to wear to the party.”